Skip to main content
Log in

Ethyl alcohol: Blood levels and performance decrements after oral administration to man

  • Published:
Psychopharmacologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Twenty-six healthy young male subjects drank ethyl alcohol (diluted in orange juice) in doses ranging from 0.5–2.0 ml/kg (0.4–1.6 g/kg). Levels of performance on three measures correlated well with dose and blood alcohol levels and decline of effects paralleled the fall in blood levels. The greatest decrement in performance was on the test requiring hand-eye coordination; lesser decrements were produced on tests of cognitive ability.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aghajanian, G. K., Bing, O. H. L.: Persistence of lysergic acid diethylamide in the plasma of human subjects. Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. 5, 611–614 (1964).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bliss, C. I.: The statistics of bioassay. New York: Academic Press 1952.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowell, E. B., Jr., Ketchum, J. S.: The treatment of scopolamine-induced delirium with physostigmine. Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. 8, 409–414 (1967).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, J. A., Evans, D.A.P.: Ethanolmetabolism in subjects possessing typical and atypical liver alcohol dehydrogenase. Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. 8, 824–829 (1967).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ekman, G., Frankenhaeuser, M., Goldberg, L., Bjerver, K., Jarpe, G., Myrsten, A.: Effects of alcohol intake on subjective and objective variables over a five-hour period. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 4, 28–38 (1963).

    Google Scholar 

  • — — —, Hagdahl, R., Myrsten, A.: Subjective and objective effects of alcohol as functions of dosage and time. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 6, 399–409 (1964).

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg, L.: Behavioural and physiological effects of alcohol on man. Psychosom. Med. 28, 570–595 (1966).

    Google Scholar 

  • —, Watts, C.: Serum enzyme changes as Evidence of liver reaction to oral alcohol. Gastroenterology 49, 256–261 (1965).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, A., Aronow, L., Kalman, S. M.: Principles of drug action, pp. 285–286. New York: Harper and Row 1968.

    Google Scholar 

  • Groff, W. A., Mounter, L. A., Sim, V. M.: A multichannel analytical system for continuous monitoring of blood cholinesterase. Teehn. Symp. 1, 498–502 (1966).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollister, L. E., Clyde, D. J.: Blood levels of pentobarbital sodium, meprobamate, and tybamate in relation to clinical effect. Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. 9, 204–208 (1968).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Idestrom, C., Cadenius, B.: Time relations of the effects of alcohol compared to placebo. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 13, 189–200 (1968).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobsen, E.: The metabolism of ethyl alcohol. Pharmacol. Rev. 4, 107–135 (1952).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leake, C. D., Silverman, M.: Alcoholic beverages in clinical medicine. Chicago: Yearbook Medical Publishers. Ind. 1966.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lundquist, F., Wolthers, H.: The kinetics of alcohol elimination in man. Acta pharmacol. (Kbh.) 14, 265–289 (1958).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayfield, D., Allen, D.: Alcohol and affect: A psychopharmacological study. Amer. J. Psychiat. 123, 1346–1351 (1967).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mendelson, J. H., Stein, S.: Serum cortisol levels in alcoholic and nonalcoholic subjects during experimentally induced ethanol intoxication. Psychosom. Med. 28, 616–626 (1966).

    Google Scholar 

  • — —, McGuire, M. T.: Comparative psychophysiological studies of alcoholic and nonalcoholic subjects undergiong experimentally induced ethanol intoxication. Psychosom. Med. 28, 1–12 (1966).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • — —, Mello, N. K.: Effects of experimentally induced intoxication on metabolism of ethanol-1-C14 in alcoholic subjects. Metabolism 14, 1255–1266 (1965).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moran, L. J., Mefferd, R. B.: Repetitive psychometric measures. Psychol. Rep. 5, 269–276 (1959).

    Google Scholar 

  • Ritchie, J. M.: The aliphatic alcohols, pp. 143–153. In: L. Goodman, and A. Gilman. The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 3rd Edit. New York: The Macmillan Comp. 1965.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, L., Taylor, J. D., Nash, C. W., Cameron, D. F.: The combined effects of ethanol and amphetamine sulfate on performance of human subjects. Canad. med. Ass. J. 9, 478–484 (1966).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Sidell, F.R., Pless, J.E. Ethyl alcohol: Blood levels and performance decrements after oral administration to man. Psychopharmacologia 19, 246–261 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00401941

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00401941

Key-Words

Navigation